Domestic
by angellwings
Summary: Natella. Ella hadn't meant to stay the night at Nate's. She really hadn't. She'd come over for the gang's usual movie night. And she was always the last to leave; only last night her car wouldn't start.


**A/N:** So, this story came about from watching far too many sitcoms that feature couples being all adorable and domestic. Also, Standard-Ang3l is working on a Jaitlyn companion for this. So keep an eye out for that. :D

Happy reading!

angellwings**  
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><p><strong>Domestic<strong>

by angellwings

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><p>Ella hadn't meant to stay the night at Nate's. She really hadn't. She'd come over for the gang's usual movie night. And she was always the last to leave; only last night her car wouldn't start. It was too late to call a tow and Ella was exhausted. So Nate, gentlemen that he was, offered Ella his spare bedroom. Ella was lucky enough to have an extra t-shirt in her car and Nate let her borrow a pair of his lounge pants. They were flannel and extremely soft. And even though the bed in his guest bedroom was very comfy, Ella was having a hard time sleeping.<p>

Which wasn't surprising considering the man she was secretly in love with was sleeping in the next room. Ella had never imagined she'd be sleeping over at Nate's house. She couldn't imagine he'd ever be interested in her let alone let her sleep in his guest bedroom. She took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten. She finally felt herself drift off as she reached five.

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><p>At eight that morning Nate gave up. He hadn't slept all night and he doubted it was going to happen now. He decided to get up and make coffee. He entertained the thought of making breakfast, but Nate had a history of setting off smoke alarms. Plus, he didn't know what Ella liked for breakfast and making breakfast for just himself seemed rude. Ella was his guest, after all.<p>

He paused as he plugged in his coffee grinder. Ella was his guest. She was staying in his _guest_ bedroom at _his_ house.

Ella slept over. That wasn't something he'd planned on happening. Not that he didn't want it to happen he just never thought it actually would. Especially when they weren't even dating. He contemplated everything as he finished making the coffee and while it brewed he went out to get his paper. When he came back in he found Ella looking around for a mug.

Nate smiled softly at her as she stood on her tip toes and opened and closed the cabinet doors above her head. He set down the paper and his own mug before opening the cabinet next to her and tapping her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned to face him.

"Nate," She said in surprise. "I didn't hear you come in."

He chuckled and smirked dryly at her. "I'm Batman."

Ella laughed and rolled her eyes. "You wish."

"You were one cabinet off, Ells," He said as he motioned to the cabinet he was currently holding open for her. "Take your pick of the mugs. What's mine is yours."

She bit back a laugh as she spotted a pink Barbie mug in the back of his cabinet. She pulled it down and held it up to show him. "And is _this_ yours?"

He blushed in embarrassment. "Gag gift from Shane."

Ella grinned at him and nodded. "I see. Well, I'm claiming it as mine from here on out." She paused and her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said. "You know, for whenever I happen to be over…_if_ I happen to be over…in the future."

Nate grinned knowingly at her. "I'll keep that in mind."

Ella poured a little bit of coffee into her mug and then filled it up the rest of the way with milk. Nate quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Would you like a little coffee with that cream, Ells?"

Ella smiled at him and blushed lightly. "I don't normally drink coffee. I'm more of a hot tea or hot cocoa kind of girl, but when I do drink coffee I like it extremely blonde."

"I see," Nate said with a nod. "Do you have a favorite of either?"

Ella finished adding sweetener to her coffee and then turned to face him. "I have a canister of hot cocoa powder with added coconut flavor, and I've stock piled boxes of spiced apple chai tea."

Nate nodded. "Good to know." He pulled out a chair for her at the kitchen table. "Would you like to have a seat?"

Ella nodded and noticed Nate's lounge pants for the first time that morning. "You weren't lying were you? You really do think you're Batman."

He looked down at his pajama pants that were covered with the Batman logo and blushed again. "I, um, like superheroes. A lot."

Ella chuckled. "Cute. I like them."

"Thank you," Nate said as he finally noticed Ella in a pair of _his_ pajama pants. He cleared his throat and spoke up hesitantly. "You look better in those than me, by the way."

Ella blushed and ran a hand through her hair that looked tousled and unbrushed but, Nate thought, still beautiful. "Thanks."

"So," Nate started to ask. "What would you like for breakfast?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. What have you got?"

"Cereal, bagels, pop-tarts," Nate paused thoughtfully. "More bagels, nutra-grain bars, still more bagels—"

Ella laughed and shook her head. "Um, how about…bagels."

"Good choice," Nate said with a smirk. "How do you take 'em?"

"Um, you know what," Ella said with a smile. "Let me. Do you happen to have honey or any apples in this sparsely stocked man-kitchen?"

"Sparsely stocked man-kitchen? Do you think all I eat is take out and TV dinners?" Nate asked in amusement.

"Hey, you're the one who doesn't have any _real_ food around here for breakfast, Nathaniel," Ella said with a teasing wink.

He laughed lightly before he spoke. "Well, I do have apples and honey. The apples are in the fridge and the honey is in the cabinet above the coffee maker."

"Is there cream cheese in the fridge too?" Ella asked.

Nate nodded. "On the butter shelf on the door."

"Great," Ella said as she opened his refrigerator. "Let me show you what I eat for breakfast when I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while."

"Is that your way of telling me to go grocery shopping?" Nate asked.

"Are you really going to make me spell it out for you?" Ella said with a smirk. "Now shush while I get to work."

"Yes, ma'am," Nate said as he stood up and leaned against the counter. He watched as Ella split a bagel in half and covered both halves in cream cheese. She then split an apple and then handed him one half.

"You peel and slice one half and I'll peel and slice the other," She instructed. He nodded and quickly retrieved two knives and handed her one of them. They got to work peeling immediately.

"So," Nate said slowly. "Did you leave a message with that tow service last night?"

Ella nodded. "Yes, hopefully they'll call back by nine."

Nate shrugged. "No rush. I have the day off. There's plenty of time."

"I guess so," Ella said. "I just don't want to be an inconvenience."

Nate paused in his peeling and placed a hand on the small of Ella's back. "You could never be an inconvenience, Ells."

Ella blushed and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."

They caught each other's eye for a moment before Nate cleared his throat and went back to peeling his half of the apple. A tense silence came over them as they finished peeling and slicing the apple.

"Okay," Ella said. "Now, place the slices on top of the cream cheese and then we'll drizzle honey over the apple slices."

Nate reached into the cabinet above the coffee maker and grabbed the honey for Ella. He passed it to her and watched as she drizzled the honey over her bagel. "Where did you figure out this combination?"

"Caitlyn," Ella said with a grin. "We had a really late girls night once that involved lots of baking and lots of alcohol. When we got up the next morning all my eggs and bacon and milk were gone. All I had left was a bunch of produce, bagels, and cream cheese."

"You were baking and you used up all your _bacon_?" Nate asked curiously.

"Well, like I said, there was alcohol involved. We made some seriously strange baked goods that night," Ella told him with a chuckle.

"Like what?" Nate asked as Ella handed him the honey.

"Like pineapple upside down cake wrapped in bacon and cheesecake topped with bacon. Apparently, we had a craving for sugar and bacon. Not a good combination when you've been drinking rum all night long."

Nate laughed and shook his head. "No, I guess not."

"Anyway," Ella said with a smile. "Breakfast is ready. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure it's great, Ells," Nate said as he motioned for them to return to the table. Nate unfolded his paper and then looked up at Ella expectantly. "Would you like to borrow a section of the paper?"

"Um, the Style section?" Ella asked.

Nate nodded and pulled out that section of the paper and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Ella said as she happily flipped through her portion of the paper and took a bite of her bagel.

Nate watched her for a brief moment with a soft smile before forcing himself to look away and taking a bite of his own bagel. It struck him as strange that none of this felt awkward. He was enjoying having Ella here. He liked looking up and seeing her sitting across from him at his kitchen table. He'd already starting filing away the things he'd been learning about her this morning for use in the future. He was mentally making a grocery list for his next trip to the supermarket. Hot cocoa, hot tea, and _real_ food all happened to be on it. Anything to lure Ella back. He winced internally at that thought. That sounded creepy. He tried to focus on his paper, but he couldn't seem to read the words.

He also couldn't seem to _stop_ peeking over the paper at Ella. She had a habit of biting her bottom lip while she read and she kept tucking this one strand of hair behind her ear. She would tuck it and then after a few minutes it would fall and she'd tuck it back behind her ear once again and the cycle would continue. He found the entire scene to be absolutely adorable. Ella started to look up at him and Nate frantically returned his eyes to his paper.

Ella tried not to show it, but she knew Nate was watching her. He wasn't very good at being discrete, and he'd always had a habit of spying. It was hard to focus on reading about the newest fashion trends in dresses when Nate was sitting across from her in his Batman pajama pants and unruly curls. His head was tilted and his eyes were squinted at the paper he'd unfolded across the table. He was very good at _appearing _to be concentrating, but he couldn't keep her from noticing how unfocused his eyes were. He was just as distracted as she was.

Why did this seem normal? Her nerves had kept her up all night worrying about being near Nate, and yet sitting here in Nate's kitchen felt completely right. As a matter of fact, the idea of spending this morning without Nate seemed _wrong._ Ella suddenly heard her cell phone ringing from Nate's guest bedroom and she bit back a groan.

"I should get that," Ella said hesitantly. "It's probably the tow service."

Nate nodded as Ella jogged back to the room to answer her phone. She came back ten minutes later and sat down across from him again. "So, what did they say?"

"They'll be here in twenty minutes," Ella said with a blank expression. "I should probably let them take me home when they—"

"They're gonna have to take a look at your car right? And figure out what's wrong?" Nate asked.

"Well, yes, I suppose so—"

"So, then you'd just be hanging out at the mechanics while they do that, wouldn't you?"

"I guess—"

"Then you should just stay here and let them call you when they figure out."

"But I might have to pick up a rental car or—"

"I can give you a ride to wherever you need to go, Ells. No problem," Nate said eagerly. "You should just stay. There's no need for you to leave."

Ella smiled knowingly at him. "No, I guess there's not."

"So then, you'll stay?" Nate asked hopefully.

Ella nodded. "I'll stay."

"Maybe, after breakfast we could go grocery shopping. Obviously, I could use some help in that area," Nate said with a grin.

"Sure," Ella said with a smile. "Sounds like fun."

"Great," Nate said with a nod. "Maybe you can help me get away from TV dinners and take out."

Ella laughed lightly. "I'd be happy to, Nathaniel."

They finished breakfast and continued to observe each other when the other wasn't looking and once they were done Ella helped Nate clean up the kitchen.

"I'll go get changed and clean up a bit," Ella told him. "And then we can go."

Nate nodded. "I'll call the guard at the front of the development and make sure he knows to let the tow truck through."

"Hey, Nate," Ella said.

"Yes?" Nate asked expectantly.

"Thanks for letting me stay last night," Ella said with a smile. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Ells," Nate said with a smile. "Really."

Ella put on her jeans from last night and left on the t-shirt she'd slept in. She ran out to her car and dug a cardigan and a pair of Keds out of her trunk. Thank goodness she kept extra clothes in her car. People would get the wrong impression if she were walking around in her same clothes from yesterday. She came back inside to find that Nate had changed and was talking to someone on the phone.

"Yes," He said with a nod. "A tow truck should be here in about ten minutes."

He was talking to security. Ella decided to head to the bathroom and get cleaned up a little while he did that. Nate didn't have any extra toothbrushes so she did what she did last night and brushed her teeth with her finger. She then borrowed his hairbrush and brushed out the knots and tangles in her hair and then used the washcloth hanging next to the sink to clean up the places where her eyeliner and mascara had smudged around her eyes. She almost couldn't believe she'd let him see her with smudged make up and bed head. When she came back out Nate was off the phone and waiting for her.

He'd changed into jeans, a flannel button up shirt, and Converses. His hair had been tamed and didn't stick out from his head as far. He turned to face her as he heard her enter the room and smiled.

"Ready?" He asked.

Ella nodded. "Yes, are you?"

"Yes, security is going to escort the truck over here and they'll have a guard standing by while your car is hooked up. We're all set," Nate told her as she grabbed his keys off of the kitchen counter and motioned for to follow him. They left through the door that led to the garage from the kitchen and loaded into Nate's huge black SUV.

They rode along in silence and kept gazing over at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. They were both nervous. What felt comfortable around Nate's kitchen table suddenly felt awkward in the confined space of Nate's car. Luckily they arrived at the grocery store relatively quickly. It didn't appear that any paparazzi were waiting outside as they drove up, and Ella could _see_ Nate relax. This store was in a pretty high profile neighborhood and usually the owner made sure to keep things discrete on behalf of his costumers. On occasion, though, a few photographers would try to camp out in the hopes of getting a money shot or two. Today didn't appear to be one of those occasions.

They got out of the car and walked toward store. The door opened and the bell rang as they entered.

"Well, if it isn't one of my favorite customers," The owner, Daniel, said with a smile. He was middle aged and balding, but very jovial. He shook hands with Nate and then nodded toward the aisles. "We moved the Hungry Man dinners to aisle seven."

Nate coughed nervously as Ella attempted to stifle a laugh.

"Now, why would I be interested in those, Danny?" Nate asked pointedly.

Danny's eyes slid to Ella and then realization dawned on his face. He winked at Nate before he spoke up again. "Oh, _right_. I must have had you confused with Shane. You'll probably be looking for the granola and the fresh produce. That's still in the same place."

"Thanks, Danny. I appreciate that," Nate said with a shake of his head.

"And who's the lovely lady you brought with you today?" Danny asked.

"I'm Ella," Ella said as she shook Danny's hand.

"I'm surprised I haven't met you sooner. If I were him I don't think I'd go anywhere _without_ a pretty girl like you on my arm," Danny said with a wink. "You kids have fun and take your time."

"Thanks, man," Nate said dryly. "You're a big help."

"Well, he's charming," Ella said with a chuckle. "Funny that I didn't see any granola at your house since you like to eat it so much."

"Yeah, funny. You were probably too focused on finding the mugs to notice it," Nate said unconvincingly as he grabbed a cart. They turned the corner with the cart and collided into something.

"Nate?"

"Ella?"

Nate and Ella froze and slowly looked up to see who they'd crashed into. Nate groaned immediately. "Jase, Cait."

"What are you two doing here…_together_?" Caitlyn asked with a smirk.

"Nate's kitchen was very poorly stocked," Ella said nervously. "So, I'm helping him shop. That's all."

"That's all, huh?" Jason asked knowingly. "It's awfully early for Nate, at least, when compared to his other days off."

"And," Caitlyn said with an evil grin. "You're awfully dressed down, El. The last time I saw you dressed like that we had a last minute sleep over at Tess's after her and Luke's last fight. I believe you had that same shirt and cardigan too. You had them in your trunk, if I recall."

Ella blushed. "Um, no. I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" Caitlyn asked. "I remember you wearing a Mickey and Minnie Mouse shirt _just_ like that one."

Nate cleared his throat and ran a hand through his curls. "What are you two doing here?"

"Buying things for dinner," Jason said. "Caitlyn has very specific recipes in mind."

"You're having dinner together?" Nate asked as he and Ella shared confused glances.

Caitlyn nodded. "Somebody has to train Jason how to eat well."

"You mean healthy?" Ella asked.

"No," Caitlyn said with a chuckle. "Just _well_."

"Right," Nate said. "We'll leave you to it then—"

"Oh no, don't worry about it," Jason said with a smirk. "What are you two shopping for?"

"Oh, just food," Ella said. "Nothing specific."

"I still don't get it," Caitlyn said suspiciously. "Nate brought you grocery shopping with him for tips and suggestions? Couldn't he have just gotten those same tips by _calling_ you while _he_ shopped?"

Ella blinked and gulped while she tried to think of an answer. "I—um, well…I mean, I guess…he could have, but…he—"

She cut herself off and gave Nate a pleading look. His eyes widened and he shrugged discretely.

"I…was bored," Ella said with a gulp. "And I asked if I could tag along."

"And I said sure," Nate said with a nod. "End of story."

Caitlyn chuckled lightly. "Wow, took you a long time to make up that lie."

Nate glared at her and then turned to Jason. "And _why_ exactly are you two having dinner together? No, I'm sorry. Not just having it. You're _cooking_ it."

Jason cleared his throat. "Well, we…um, Caity?"

"Because we want to eat in romantic candlelight and make out afterwards, is that alright with you?" Caitlyn said with a proud grin.

Ella's eyes widened and Nate's mouth dropped open and both stayed silent.

"That reminds me, we might want to buy a few things for breakfast too. Just in case," Caitlyn said as she winked at Jason.

"Good idea," Jason said nervously before he blushed and pulled Caitlyn and the cart away from Nate and Ella. "We should go. We'll talk to you guys later."

"Bye, lovebirds!" Caitlyn called to them over her shoulder. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do! Wait, scratch that. Don't do anything _Mitchie_ wouldn't do. She's got a bit more self control than I do."

"Hold on," Nate said as he and Ella both hurried after them. "You mean to say that the two of you are…_together?_"

"Since when?" Ella asked.

"About a month now," Jason said hesitantly. "We didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"Plus, it was kind of exciting sneaking around," Caitlyn said with a grin. "It made things very interesting."

"Oh God," Ella said suddenly. "Last week when we had movie night at my house and you guys disappeared for a while…were you—"

"Making out in your pantry closet?" Caitlyn said with a smirk. "Yes, yes we were."

"And last night when we couldn't find you two to start the movie?" Nate asked.

"Um, we were making out in your bathroom," Jason said with a light blush.

"Remind me to call a cleaning service after we leave here," Nate said with a labored sigh.

"Well, how…I mean why…how did this happen?" Ella asked in surprise.

Caitlyn shrugged. "We just got sick of pretending to be friends."

"Things just felt too _natural_ between us to keep settling for a platonic friendship," Jason said as he smiled warmly at Caitlyn. "We both realized we needed more."

Ella bit her bottom lip and glanced hesitantly at Nate before turning to the couple in front of her. "That's it? You had a realization?"

Caitlyn put a hand on Ella's shoulder. "El, one realization is all you need." She gave Ella knowing look. "Believe me, you'll know. And when you do don't hesitate to act on it."

Ella gulped and nodded. "Right. I'll remember that."

Caitlyn winked at her. "You better. I have a feeling that was something you _needed_ to hear."

"Happy shopping, you two," Jason said. As he passed Nate he leaned toward him and whispered. "Make a move already, dude."

Nate glared at him. "Thanks for the advice, brother. Now, shut up before she hears you."

Jason smirked at Nate as he turned back to Caitlyn. "C'mon, Caity. We have more shopping to do. Let's leave these two alone."

Caitlyn nodded. "We'll see you guys later. Have fun!"

Jason put an arm around Caitlyn's shoulder and she slipped her hand into his back pocket as they walked away with their cart and Ella shook her head at them in shock.

"Can you believe that?" She asked as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I never even suspected. I mean, I knew they liked each other but I never thought they'd actually do anything about it."

Nate's expression softened and he smiled. "They look happy. Happier than I've ever seen either of them."

Ella bit her bottom lip thoughtfully and nodded. "Yeah, they do."

"Everything okay, Els?" Nate asked in concern at the distracted look on her face.

"Yeah," Ella said with a nod. "I'm fine. Let's get back to stocking your kitchen, okay?"

"Right," Nate said with a nod. "Where to first?"

"Well, pastas are easy to cook and great meals to use when you're _learning_ to cook. So, the pasta and sauces aisle. We'll get you some whole grain pastas. They're the best," Ella said as she led him to the appropriate aisle.

After the pasta aisle she led him to the produce, the dairy, and the meats sections. Once they were done with those Ella walked away to browse the bakery and Nate snuck over to the tea and coffee aisle. He threw all of Ella's favorite teas and cocoa into the cart, hid them under a few other items, and then met her back at the bakery.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Ella asked.

"Just went to pick up a few things I wanted," He said.

"What'd you pick up?" Ella asked as she glanced into the cart. Her brow quirked when she spotted a familiar pink tin and she reached into the cart before Nate could stop her. "Coconut Hot Cocoa?"

"Um, well, you raved about it so I thought I'd try it," Nate lied.

"Really?" Ella asked suspiciously. "You don't seem like a hot cocoa kind of guy."

"I've just never really given it a chance," Nate said with a nervous gulp. "I'm open to any suggestions you may have."

"Um, well, I like strawberry cream cheese on my bagels," Ella said hesitantly.

"Right," Nate said with a nod. "Let's go get some of that. Anything else?"

Ella blushed. "The rest of my suggestions are awfully girly, Nate."

"Come on, Ells. Just tell me," Nate said as he nudged her shoulder.

"I like Special K Chocolatey Delight cereal. You know, the Kellogg's flakes with little chunks of chocolate…"

"Right, that sounds good. Let's get some of that too," Nate said as he headed back toward the dairy section.

"While we're there you should pick up some pumpkin spice creamer. It's delicious," Ella said with a small knowing smile. She winked at him playfully. "I like it with a tiny bit of coffee."

They made one last round around the grocery store while Ella added her favorite things to Nate's cart. They reached the cash register a little while later and Danny rang them up.

"Wow, Nate," Danny said with a smirk. "Trying a lot of new stuff this time, are we?"

Nate ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well, a guy's gotta widen his horizons some time, Danny."

"Strange that it took the beautiful Ella, here, to get you to do that," Danny said with a chuckle.

Ella laughed lightly. "And you said he bought granola. Danny, I think you lied to me."

"Sorry, Ms. Ella, just tryin' to help the poor guy out. He looked like he needed it," Danny said as he winked at her.

"Alright, Dan, stop flirting with my—um, friend," Nate said as he cut himself off. "And finish ringing me up."

Ella blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Danny smirked at the two of them and continued to ring up and bag Nate's groceries. There was silence for a few minutes until the lady behind them in line tapped Ella on the shoulder. Ella turned to her expectantly. "Yes?"

"I just have to tell you," The little old lady said with a kind smile. "You two remind me of me and my husband when we first started out. How long have you been married?"

Ella's eyes widened and Nate nearly dropped his wallet as he pulled it out of his back pocket.

"Oh," Ella said nervously. "No, we're not married."

"No? But you're such an adorable couple I just assumed…"

Danny chuckled softly at Nate and Ella's shocked and flushed faces. "Don't feel bad, Mrs. Smith. I'm sure you're not the first person to have made that mistake."

"We—we're just friends," Nate said reluctantly as he handed Danny his credit card. "She's helping me shop for groceries."

Mrs. Smith smirked. "Oh yes, Jerry pulled that trick with me before we started dating. He asked if I had any 'suggestions' for him and bought all of my favorite things. I wasn't blind; I knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to lure me to come over more often."

Ella's eyes slid over to Nate and she grinned knowingly. "Really? Well, that certainly was sneaky of him."

"Oh, yes. I let him think it worked. It was just such a sweet gesture, and really it all turned out for the best anyway," Mrs. Smith said as she winked at Ella. "We started dating not long after that."

"Hey, Danny," Nate said nervously. "You got a receipt for me yet?"

Danny chuckled and slid the receipt toward Nate. "Just need your signature."

Nate signed hurriedly and tossed the receipt at Danny before grabbing Ella's hand. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Smith. See you next time, Danny. Ella, let's get back to my place before the milk sours, please?"

Ella said her goodbyes over her shoulder as Nate pushed the cart out the door and led her away. Once the door closed behind them Ella turned to Nate. "What's the rush, Nate?"

"No rush, Ells, really."

Nate loaded the groceries impossibly fast and he started the SUV as Ella stepped up into the passenger seat. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Nate sighed and looked up at Ella. "I…I was just thrown off by that Mrs. Smith woman."

"You mean, by her asking us if we were married?" Ella asked worriedly. "Nate, she didn't mean anything by it. You shouldn't feel pressured or anything."

"I know, it's just that it—"

"I mean, really, you and me? Married? That's just a silly idea," Ella said softly as she looked away from Nate and out the passenger side window.

"No, it's not," Nate said as he furrowed his brow at her.

Ella turned back to face him slowly. "It's not?"

"I'm not saying we should elope to Vegas or anything, but—look, I was thrown off because what Mrs. Smith said hit really close to home," Nate said honestly.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked.

"I've just had a really good time with you so far today," Nate admitted. "Having you at my house this morning felt so right." Nate paused and took a deep breath. "And, I have to admit, I wouldn't mind it happening more often."

Ella smiled brightly and blushed. "Really?"

He gulped and let out a growly frustrated sigh. "We need to get back to my house, and unload these groceries."

"Why?" Ella asked.

"So that we can talk without me worrying about milk, meat, and other groceries going bad," Nate said with a huff as he started the car. "Because we _need_ to talk, Ella. I don't think we can avoid it any longer."

Ella chuckled. "You're distracted by groceries?"

"Hey, I just spent a good chunk of money on this food and I'm not about to waste it," Nate said as he pulled out of the parking spot.

"Oh, Nate," Ella said with a light laugh. "You're cute."

They arrived at Nate's house and both of them hurriedly unpacked Nate's groceries. Once that was done Nate grabbed Ella's hand and pulled her toward his living room and sat them both down on his couch. He was silent for a moment before Ella spoke up curiously.

"Nate? You did want to talk, right?" Ella asked.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Nate asked suddenly.

Ella gulped nervously. "Of course I did."

He quirked a brow at her. "Did you really?"

Ella sighed and closed her eyes. "No."

"I didn't think so," Nate said with a grin as Ella slowly opened her eyes.

"Did you?" Ella asked.

Nate shook his head. "No."

"Did you really want me to go shopping with you or…did you just want me to stay?" Ella asked suspiciously.

Nate smiled softly. "Both."

"And all of my suggestions?" Ella asked with a grin.

Nate blushed and cleared his throat. "I wanted to have some of your favorite things here just in case this happens again down the road."

Ella smiled brightly and leaned toward Nate. "Just in case or were you _hoping_ for it?"

Nate leaned toward Ella and met her halfway. "Honestly? Hoping for it. I've really enjoyed playing house with you this morning."

Ella giggled and nodded. "Me too."

She scooted closer to Nate and wrapped her arms around his neck before slowly capturing his lips with her own. Nate wrapped his arms around Ella's waist and pulled her into his lap as he deepened the kiss. Her hands slipped into his hair and his slipped just underneath the back of her shirt and cardigan. They pulled apart to breathe and Ella rested her forehead against Nate's.

"So, since you just restocked your kitchen, would you mind if I stayed for lunch?" Ella asked with a grin.

Nate kissed her lips softly and then chuckled. "Oh, trust me, you're not leaving here any time soon."

Ella laughed softly. "It almost sounds like you're kidnapping me."

Nate smirked at her. "I, sort of, am. At least for the weekend."

"As long as I get to go home and pick up clothes and a toothbrush then I'm all for it," Ella said with a chuckle and a wink.

Ella's phone beeped from her back pocket and she reluctantly pulled it out. That beep meant either a voice mail or a text.

"Who is it? The mechanic?" Nate asked expectantly.

Ella laughed. "No. It's a text from Caitlyn."

She turned the screen so that Nate could read it.

"_Details. I need details. Now."_

Nate rolled his eyes and took Ella's phone out of her hands. "Nope. You didn't hear her details. She can wait a while."

He threw her phone onto his coffee table and then urgently captured her lips with his. She made a surprised noise as he pushed her back onto the couch. He deepened the kiss and Ella immediately relaxed. Everything else was completely forgotten. She definitely wanted to have more mornings like this one.


End file.
